With center Jon Brockman in the middle and Washington scratching, clawing and elbowing for every rebound, the Huskies are considered the most physical team in the Pacific-10 Conference.

However, does that physical nature overflow and push the Huskies to the brink of being a dirty team?

“They do whatever they have to do to win a ballgame,” UCLA senior point guard Darren Collison said. “Whatever it takes. Anything you can think of they will try to do to win a ballgame, which is fine because a lot of people think basketball isn’t a physical sport.”

No. 22 Washington, which sits atop the Pac-10 standings, visits No. 20 UCLA tonight at Pauley Pavilion, and the third-place Bruins need a victory to have a realistic shot at a fourth consecutive conference crown.

A win would also add pizzazz to the Bruins’ postseason resume since they are yet to beat a ranked opponent, but even more is at stake in this matchup.

Before last month’s meeting in Seattle, several UCLA players said they were shown a video of Washington’s style of play, and it wasn’t a collection of feel-good dunks and politeness.

“They play really physical,” UCLA senior wing Josh Shipp said. “They try to win games. I’m not going to call them dirty. I just feel like they like play hard and things happen in a game that normally don’t happen.”

Like Bruins center Alfred Aboya having a ball thrown off his face on an inbounds play?

It happened last season at Washington, when Aboya was guarding Tim Morris in the last minute of a tight game. To avoid a five-second violation, Morris fired the ball off Aboya’s face.

Or Aboya needing three stitches to close a wound on his forehead created by Brockman’s elbow?

That transpired during UCLA’s defeat last month at Washington, and afterward Bruins coach Ben Howland called it “a vicious play.”

Aboya was also run into by Washington’s Venoy Overton away from the ball in last month’s loss, and a few days later Aboya said he believed Overton “was really trying to hurt me.”

So, are the Huskies a dirty team?

“I don’t think they’re a dirty team,” Aboya said. “I think they’re a physical team. I was watching Pittsburgh play (Monday) and I saw a player carry (Connecticut’s Hasheem) Thabeet on his back and laid him on the floor. That’s not being dirty. That’s just being physical, and I think that’s what Washington is known for.”

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Brockman is the epitome of Washington’s physical prowess. He is second in the Pac-10 in rebounding (11.1rpg), and is a major reason why the Huskies lead the conference in rebounding (41.3 per game), and rebounding margin (+9.4 per game).

During the Huskies’ 86-75 win over the Bruins last month, they held a 36-33 rebound advantage and attempted 43 free throws, 28 more than UCLA.

“I think they’re playing even better,” Howland said. “They’re really good at No. 1, attacking the glass. They’re a great rebounding team. No.2, they do a great job of attacking the rim as much as possible.”

Collison used one word to describe Washington’s style – “physicality” – and he believes it will benefit UCLA in the long run.

“Washington is a team that’s always going to get us ready for the (NCAA) Tournament,” Collison said. “So, they’re fine the way they are.”

The threat of not being the most physical team on the floor is one unfamiliar position the Bruins might find themselves in tonight, but not the only one.

In winning the past three Pac-10 titles outright, UCLA was on top of the standings much of the time. However, the Bruins (19-6, 8-4 Pac-10) are tied for third, and a loss would put them 2-1/2 games behind Washington (19-6, 10-3) with five games remaining.

“We definitely haven’t been in this position,” Shipp said. “We haven’t lost faith. We had a few mishaps, but it doesn’t change anything for us. We’re still going to go out and try to win these next few games.”

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